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National Science Foundation

From Academic Kids

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent United States
government agency responsible for supporting basic science research mainly by providing research funding. It operates mainly through the establishment of research grants, particularly to
universities or through individual grants (including to professors and graduate students).

History and mission

The NSF was established by the National Science Foundation Act of 1950. The stated mission of the NSF is

"To promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; and to secure the national defense."[1] (http://www.nsf.gov/home/about/creation.htm)

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National Science Foundation Building

The NSF is generally considered by historians of science to be an inept compromise between too many clashing visions of the purpose and scope of the federal government. It has suffered from chronic underfunding for decades, even after the passage of the controversial Mansfield Amendment, which was partially intended to reaffirm the role of NSF as the primary civilian government agency for the funding of basic science.

Special programs

The NSF attempts to promote various special programs, at times to help increase the participation in science of under represented minorities. For example, the Research Experience for Undergraduates (http://www.nsf.gov/home/crssprgm/reu/start.htm) (REU) program provides grants to research institutions for the purpose of providing undergraduate students the opportunity to perform research for a summer. This program targets women and minorities at many of the participant universities. The GK-12 (http://www.nsf.gov/home/crssprgm/gk12/) Crosscutting Program provides money to universities with graduate students for the purpose of having graduate students interact with K-12 students. The goal is to increase student retention in the sciences starting at an early age. Other interdisciplinary (http://www.nsf.gov/home/crssprgm/) programs unite various subfields of science, or the NSF and other funding agencies. And at this time all NSF grants carry with them a mandate to perform some form of outreach. See science education.